If you’re planning on selling your home next year, now’s the time to start preparing. Selling your home can be a stressful process, but with a little foresight, some smart organizational moves, and the right resources, you’ll be well on your way to a successful home sale. Use this simple checklist to stay on track and get the best deal possible.

Do Your Research

Timing is everything when it comes to buying or selling a home. The national housing market has been steadily recovering, but can vary vastly from city to city. Talk to real estate professionals like Claire and Polly that you trust to get their advice and expertise to find the ideal time to start the selling process. They’ll be able to lend insight into where the market is headed and how it may impact your home sale.

Organize and Declutter

When it comes to selling your home, sometimes it’s not about what you don’t have—it’s about having too much! Clearing out closets, paring down on piles, and tossing trash are some of the most cost effective ways to get top dollar for your home. Start these tasks early and take them on little by little to keep from feeling overwhelmed. The goal is to create a home that is open and bright. Consider a storage unit to help get larger items that you’re not ready to part with out of the way.

Make Minor Repairs and Upgrades

The smallest repairs can sometimes make the biggest impact on your home sale. Visit a local open house or two in your local area. Take note of the little eyesores that you notice, then turn the critical eye on your own home. Does your house need a new coat of paint? Are your bathroom fixtures outdated? These small, budget-friendly fixes can make a big difference when it comes to getting a great offer.

Hire a Experienced, Credentialed, Full Time REALTOR

The right real estate professionals can ease the stress of a home sale. Look for an agent who demonstrates expertise in your neighborhood, is full time, credentialed and is a REALTOR and/or BROKER. An experienced real estate agent can help you through the details of the home sale process and can help set realistic expectations for how much your home is really worth.

Consider Having a Pre-Listing Inspection

A pre-listing inspection will cost you a couple hundred dollars up front, but can save you money in the long run. The inspection will alert you to any issues ahead of time—which can be particularly valuable if you have an older home. You’ll be able to fix any minor issues ahead of time or allow a credit for the issue in the home price.

Set a Realistic Price

Many sellers have an emotional attachment to their home—as they should—but at times this can lead to unrealistic expectations for the market value of the home. Your REALTOR is your team leader in the pricing game. They’ll be able to walk you through what comparable properties in your neighborhood sell for and can help you settle on a realistic asking price. You should also be open to course-correcting your asking price if the market necessitates it. Evidence for the need for a price correction is best indicated according to the number of showings and buyer feedback.

Help by Listing Your Homes Best Features

Your real estate professional will help you create a strong sell sheet, but sometimes you know the best features about your home and neighborhood. Help your REALTOR out by sending them a quick note highlighting your favorite things about your neighborhood and community. The little details may be just the thing needed to get a buyer to pounce.

Prepare for Your Open Houses

Now’s the time to clean, clean, clean. Buyers will want to explore the nooks and crannies of your home and notice every detail. Keep pets out of sight, eliminate any strong odors, and open the drapes. You’ll also want to depersonalize the space so that buyers can picture themselves in your home. Remove an excessive number of photos of your friends and family or any strong indicators of your specific interests and hobbies.

While Showing Your Home

During the period where you are actively showing your home, you will want to be open house ready at all times. Best to leave all lights on and window coverings open to let as much light in as possible. Soft semi-classical music sets the mood. You never know when the best buyers will want to see your home. Even on non-open house dates, it’s smart to keep your home clean, the lawn and garden maintained, and any pocketable valuables and personal drug prescriptions out of sight.

Negotiate and Close the Deal

Once you get an offer, finalize negotiations, and get into contract, the hard work is almost over. However, deals can sometimes go south at the final moments. Cooperate with your home’s buyer, appraiser, inspectors, contractors, escrow providers and your local authorities to get your home sale transaction closed smoothly. Your REALTOR is the key to keep you on course.

By doing your homework before you buy, you’ll feel more content about your new home.

Most potential homebuyers are a smidge daunted by the fact that they’re about to agree to a hefty mortgage that they’ll be paying for the next few decades. The best way to relieve that anxiety is to be confident you’re purchasing the best home at a price you can afford with the most favorable financing. These seven steps will help you make smart decisions about your biggest purchase.

Decide how much home you can afford

Generally, you can afford a home priced 2 to 3 times your gross income. Remember to consider costs every homeowner must cover: property taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, and community association fees, if applicable, as well as costs specific to your family, such as day care if you plan to have children.

Develop your home wish list

Be honest about which features you must have and which you’d like to have. Handicap accessibility for an aging parent or special needs child is a must. Granite countertops and stainless steel appliances are in the bonus category. Come up with your top-five must-haves and top-five wants to help you focus your search and make a logical, rather than emotional, choice when home shopping.

Select where you want to live

Make a list of your top-five community priorities, such as commute time, schools, and recreational facilities. Ask your REALTOR® to help you identify three to four target neighborhoods based on your priorities.

Start saving

Have you saved enough money to qualify for a mortgage and cover your downpayment? Ideally, you should have 20% of the purchase price set aside for a downpayment, but some lenders allow as little as 5% down. A small downpayment preserves your savings for emergencies.

However, the lower your downpayment, the higher the loan amount you’ll need to qualify for, and if you still qualify, the higher your monthly payment. Your downpayment size can also influence your interest rate and the type of loan you can get.

Finally, if your downpayment is less than 20%, you’ll be required to purchase private mortgage insurance. Depending on the size of your loan, PMI can add hundreds to your monthly payment. Check with your state and local government for mortgage and downpayment assistance programs for first-time buyers.

Ask about all the costs before you sign

A downpayment is just one homebuying cost. Your REALTOR® can tell you what other costs buyers commonly pay in your area—including home inspections, attorneys’ fees, and transfer fees of 1% of the home price. Tally up the extras you’ll also want to buy after you move-in, such as window coverings and patio furniture for your new yard.

Get your credit in order

A credit report details your borrowing history, including any late payments and bad debts, and typically includes a credit score. Lenders lean heavily on your credit report and credit score in determining whether, how much, and at what interest rate to lend for a home. Most require a minimum credit score of 620 for a home mortgage.

You’re entitled to free copies of your credit reports annually from the major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Order and then pore over them to ensure the information is accurate, and try to correct any errors before you buy. If your credit score isn’t up to snuff, the easiest ways to improve it are to pay every bill on time and pay down high credit card debt.

Get prequalified

Meet with a lender to get a prequalification letter that says how much house you’re qualified to buy. Start gathering the paperwork your lender says it needs. Most want to see W-2 forms verifying your employment and income, copies of pay stubs, and two to four months of banking statements.

If you’re self-employed, you’ll need your current profit and loss statement, a current balance sheet, and personal and business income tax returns for the previous two years.

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All homeowners should check the value of their home periodically. After all you visit your doctor once a year for your annual checkup … And you wait for your year end statement from your financial adviser that reflects the current value of your annuities, bonds and stocks …

Why not check the value of your home? It represents for most a large part of their net worth.

I will be happy to run a detailed report for you that estimates your home’s current value. To make it more accurate, I would suggest you email me your contact information, your address and any significant home improvements you have made after your purchased it.

Please send your information to Claire@ClaireRichardsRealtor.com

You will receive the report within a few days by email and you will be impressed!

This service is one of the many fine services we provide to our clients and friends at the Claire Richards Realty Group. Enjoy it.

While return on investment (ROI) may not be the biggest consideration in a homeowner’s mind when deciding which projects make it to the top of the list, knowing which projects see the highest returns may be helpful in the decision-making process.

Home is where the heart is, but sometimes it’s also where a homeowner’s savings plan comes into account. Homeowners may have a long wish list of home renovations and projects, and sometimes the work is never done.

Happiness in the home can be a part of the ROI, but other cost vs. value factors vary by region and even by room. ROI, as defined in Remodeling’s 2015 Cost vs. Value report, can be broken down as the percentage of the estimated average cost of a renovation project that is projected to be recouped in resale value, as aggregated from real estate and appraisal estimates.

According to Huffington Post, the most common remodeling job request projects in the United States are in the bathroom. A mid-range bathroom addition costs approximately $39,578, as complied in Remodeling’s Cost vs. Value report. The ROI was estimated at 57.8 percent. For those needing a bathroom remodel, the cost averaged $16,724 with an ROI of 70 percent. Upscale additions and remodels naturally went up in cost, but the ROI didn’t quite hit the level of a mid-range upgrade, with 58 percent and 59.8 percent, respectively. Bathroom remodeling projects that were big in 2015, according to Forbes, included custom vanities, feature floor tiles, bigger showers and plant life.

Kitchen remodel job requests accounted for 69 percent, the second most common in the U.S. A major mid-range remodel averaged at about $56,768 with an ROI of 67.8 percent, while minor remodels saw an ROI of 79.3 percent and a cost of about $19,226. A major upscale remodel could cost upward of $113,097, with an ROI at 59 percent. According to My Home Ideas, trends in 2015 included built-in coffee centers, dual-fuel ranges, Italian cooking gadgets, designer dishwashers and wine refrigeration.

Not all projects, of course, are room-centered. Window/door replacement accounted for 44 percent of home remodeling job requests in 2015. This included window replacement, entry door replacement and steel, with ROIs of 72.9 percent, 78.8 percent and 72 percent, respectively. Finished basements also were high on the list, with 27 percent of remodeling job requests. Coming in with an average cost of $65,442 in 2015, the ROI on these projects was 72.8 percent.

I hope this information is helpful. And by all means call or email me with your contact information, address and major improvements you have made to your home. I will email you a very accurate, detailed analysis of your home’s present value.

The winter season is a prime time for house fires. Half of all destructive fires tend to occur in December, January, and February, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

But most home fires are preventable. Here are some leading culprits to watch for:

Space heaters. These devices are the leading cause of house fires in the winter. Make sure the heater is at least three feet away from anything flammable. Plug it directly into the outlet, not an extension cord. And do not go to bed with the spacer heater still on, experts warn. “Most space heater accidents happen while everyone is sleeping,” says Peter Duncanson, director of disaster restoration training for ServiceMaster.

Cooking. The leading cause of house fires year-round is stovetop cooking. Interestingly, the majority of these fires occur within the first 15 minutes of cooking. Never leave the house when the oven or stove is on. Keep oven mitts, dish towels, and other flammable items at least three feet away from the stovetop.

Electrical cords. Overloaded or damaged circuits cause 3,300 fires annually. The laptop, iPhone charger, toaster, and other electrical appliances all squeezed onto the same power outlet with extension cords and adapters can be dangerous. Feel your cords to make sure they’re not warm (if they are, it’s a sure sign they’re overloaded and you need to unplug some). Also, never run extension cords under rugs or in walls, and don’t connect several in a row.

Fireplaces and wood stoves. Make sure you keep any flammable objects at least five feet away. And don’t think vigilance only during active burning is enough; embers can smolder for up to two weeks and still ignite if given the opportunity. Empty ashes into a metal container and keep them away from anything flammable for at least two weeks, experts advise. Sabine Schoenberg, home improvement expert and host of ThisNewHouse, advises that home owners be sure to clean fireplaces and flues at least weekly

Whether planning to sell the house, have it rented out, or simply for personal satisfaction, a little renovation and upgrade is always necessary to help increase its market value. In order to boost a house’s value in the market, it is first important to learn what prospective buyers or tenants are searching for in a house. For most homeowners, the biggest concern is usually the budget required for upgrade, renovation and home maintenance. The great news is that there’s no need to spend thousands of dollars for home improvements. Just follow these 10 tips for the best home upgrades to add home value.

Knock down a wall and go for open concept. Not only will it create an illusion of a bigger space, but it is a home design trend that is very much in demand today. Just make sure to have the wall assessed for possible electrical wires housed behind it before hitting it with a sledge hammer.

Make the kitchen area workable. This means making the kitchen area a functional place where you can actually cook a decent meal. Update faucets, fix leaking pipes, buff the counters and repaint cupboards and cabinets. It is not necessary to replace everything with a new kitchen system. Simply repaint worn out furniture and replace outdated knobs with modern handles to make it look more expensive.

Brighten up the bath. Bathrooms are among the most important considerations for many tenants and prospective home buyers so it is pertinent to get this area of the house right. Buff up the tiles and replace the faucets, shower heads and toilet seats. There’s no need to replace all the tiles, just those that are cracked and chipped. The trick is to find the right cleaning agent that can help whiten the tiles to make it look good as new.

Add more storage. If there’s an extra wall or area of the house that does not seem to have any function, add in a laminate closet system or have a carpenter install small built-in cabinets, racks or pantries. Making every extra space of the house functional will help make it look more livable.

Turn that extra space into an extra room. A house with a lot of rooms will always look impressive when advertised in the market. If the house has a huge attic, a den, or extra space that can be turned into another room then by all means, fix it up to look like an additional room. Simply add in a built-in closet and a window and it should be good to accommodate.

Update the lighting system. Still using an old chandelier or unflattering fluorescent lamps? Hire an electrician to place some decorative lighting fixtures or dimmers that will give the house a more modern feel and mask any unflattering curves on the walls and ceilings.

Buff the floors. The moment a buyer or tenant steps inside the front door the first thing they will notice are the floors. Tiled or hardwood floors need to be buffed till it sparkles. Carpeted floors need a touch of professional carpet cleaning to make it look, smell and feel brand new. Hiring professional cleaners is a small investment compared to the big impact it will make.

Apply a fresh coat of paint on the walls or replace an uncharacteristic door with a rustic barn door. Choose modern color palettes to give the house a fresh new look.

Add outdoor dining furniture in the front lawn or backyard. These areas can become extended living and dining areas.

Hire an electrical and plumbing service to look at the overall state of the house. It is much better to catch the problems early on than find out much later when the problem has already worsened such as replacing the entire plumbing system or rewiring the entire house.

Real estate is Americans’ top investment choice, according to a new Bankrate survey. The survey asks Americans what kind of investments made the most sense and 27 percent said they’d invest in property if they had a pool of spare cash.

CDs and other cash investments – previously the top answer in Bankrate’s 2013 and 2014 surveys – came in second at 23 percent. Only 17 percent of survey respondents said they’d purchase stocks; 14 percent said gold and other precious metals; and 5 percent said bonds.

“We’re not seeing the bunker mentality from individual investors to the same extent of the past few years,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst. “But the preference for real estate over, say, the stock market, does beg the question of whether or not Americans are again viewing residential housing as a golden ticket.”

Geographically, Americans living in the West or in urban areas showed the biggest preference toward real estate investments at 35 percent and 31 percent, respectively. Americans living in the South also showed a strong preference for real estate and cash investments, while those living in the Midwest said they preferred cash and stocks over real estate.

Pennsylvania’s suburbs, specifically those in Chester County and Montgomery County, rank among the very best places to buy a home in America, according to Niche (www.niche.com).

Niche specializes in providing students, families, and professionals with helpful information for choosing a neighborhood, college, or school. Chester County features five of Niche’s top 60 suburbs.

Upper Uwchlan is the highest ranked suburb in Chester County, boasting “A+” education grade, a crime and safety grade of “A,” and a 91.7 percent home ownership rate.

West Whiteland Township, Tredyffrin, Birmingham, and East Whiteland townships are all in Chester County, and all finish in the top-60 of Niche’s survey results (26th, 41st, 52nd and 60th overall, respectively).

Philadelphia’s suburbs dominate the list of the top places to buy a home in America. By Niche’s numbers, the region offers strong housing markets “where property taxes and housing costs are in line with value.”

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A generation ago, buyers didn’t have the luxury of the Internet to research and investigate real estate. Today, of course, many enter the real estate market with statistics and information gathered online.

Despite all this data, many people, especially first-timers, have only a cursory understanding of how to be a successful buyer, how to negotiate, and how to approach the home-buying process. And they often develop pre-conceived notions about buying real estate, either from what they’ve read online or seen on TV, what their friends and family have told them, or all of the above.

It’s important that I as a realtor/broker, watch for and potentially debunk a buyer’s myths about the home buying process. If myths go unchecked, buyers may hold back from negotiations or even the home purchase because of things they think are true—but aren’t.

A good agent will debunk those myths while educating their clients at the same time. Be mindful of how you disseminate information and aware that sometimes, it can be better for a buyer to learn the truth behind the myth on their own—to experience a “lesson learned” in essence—than to simply hear what’s reality from their agent.

Here are seven myths many home buyers bring with them to the process.

1. Working directly with the listing agent will get the buyer a better deal

Many people today figure that with real estate listings published online, the buyer’s agent’s role is irrelevant. By searching and researching independently, buyers going directly to the listing agent assume they can negotiate a better deal by cutting out the middleman—the buyer’s agent.

The role of the buyer’s agent was never solely about accessing listings, of course. A good buyer’s agent has always had their feet on the street and keeps a finger on the market’s pulse. They know the comps and the other agents, so they can add an incredible amount of value simply through sharing their experience and knowledge.

Buyers, left to their own devices, “don’t know what they don’t know.” A good buyer’s agent can step in, track the buyer’s process and help uncover some of the unknowns about a particularly house, an agent or the market in general. A good agent has years of market and transaction experience in their head.

Additionally, the seller is going to pay the commission whether or not there’s a buyer’s agent. For the buyer, then, there’s rarely any savings by going without an agent. Instead, the listing agent simply makes double the commission. There’s no savings to the seller, either, when the buyer doesn’t have an agent.

Also, by having a listing agreement with the seller, the listing agent is looking out first and foremost for the seller’s interests, not the buyer’s. By working with an agent (at no cost), the buyer gets an advisor/advocate working to represent their best interests.

2. Buyers should never offer full price

It’s impossible to have an across-the-board strategy for pricing and negotiating real estate. For starters, every real estate market is different, as is every seller’s approach to pricing. In many parts of the country, for instance, it’s a red-hot sellers’ market. Many times, sellers will purposely price their property right at or just below market value to get multiple buyers interested. When buyers try to offer, say, 5 percent under market value when everyone else is offering full price or more, they might be looking for a home for months.

Also, if a listing is brand new, the seller may expect not a penny under asking. The first two weeks to a month are when the seller sees the strongest activity. When a buyer offers too far under asking out of the gates, they’re likely to lose out.

In slower markets, it’s not uncommon for a seller to price a home well over the market value and wait it out. If a buyer offers 5 percent off a home that is overpriced by 10 percent, the buyer risks overpaying. This is why it’s important that buyers work with an experienced local agent and never take a one-size-fits-all approach to pricing and negotiating.

3. Spring and fall are the best time to buy

Many years ago, real estate markets revolved around school cycles and summer. People wanted to move during summer so their kids could be settled in and start school by September. For this reason, spring has always been seen as the main selling season. Summer was usually slow, so the fall brought a second opportunity for buying and selling.

Some buyers (and sellers) still organize their activities around this myth. They pull away in the summer as well as during winter. With so much information online today, however, markets move much faster and a buyer can look at real estate 24/7 from a mobile device on their couch. As a result, serious buyers are in the market all the time. (The not-so-serious buyers come and go when it’s convenient.) Homes listed in November or January could be listings of highly motivated sellers. Some buyers have their hands in a real estate transaction all the way up to Christmas, and a seller who has a home listed then must be pretty serious about selling.

The bottom line: Shopping in the dead of winter or the middle of summer can present great opportunities for today’s buyers. With less competition in a market dominated by serious sellers, an aggressive buyer can snag a great deal in summer or winter.

4. Always leave room for negotiation after inspections

It’s common to think that the seller has left room on the table for future price negotiations after the property has been inspected. Therefore, as the myth would have it, a buyer should also leave room to negotiate after the property is inspected. Every buyer goes through this thought process when negotiating the home purchase. But when they follow this approach, they’re bound to get burned.

Many of today’s sellers go through the motions of getting their home in top shape before going on the market. This includes fixing the leaky water heater, replacing or repairing the roof or completing a list of “fix-it” items prior to listing.

Sellers want a sure thing with their buyer. A good agent will work with them to make sure the home is foolproof prior to listing. If the buyer leaves $15K on the table with hopes to negotiate afterwards and the inspection comes out flawless, they will be in trouble. A seller with a solid home and a clean inspection isn’t likely to negotiate with that buyer again. In a strong market, a buyer who tries to renegotiate won’t be taken seriously.

Agents should advise their buyer clients to be happy with the final price offered to the seller. It may happen that there are issues after the inspection and some credits come the buyer’s way. But counting on those credits will only waste everyone’s time when the inspection comes back clean.

5. A buyer must put down 20 percent to get a loan

Traditionally, a buyer got a 30-year-fixed loan and put 20 percent down. But times have changed.

With higher home values have come creative loan products. These aren’t necessarily the types of loan products that got people into trouble 10 years ago, however. Today, there are government-backed loans such as those from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that allow for as little as 3 percent down. These loans are a little more difficult to obtain and require a few extra layers of approval. But they’re available to borrowers with strong credit and income. With interest rates still at 20-year-lows, a smart buyer today will leverage the bank’s money to work for them.

Of course, buyers should never sign up for a loan they can’t afford. And they should always double- and triple-check their rate and payment schedule. It’s important not to get caught up in a small down payment scenario where the interest payment is low at first but then increases, unless the buyer can plan for it. If a buyer is serious about living in a location for at least seven years and wants to put down roots, then explore the available loan options. A five-minute call with a mortgage broker or banker can be quite revealing.

6. A buyer with a loan can’t compete with a cash buyer

With all the recent talk of cash buyers and big investors swooping in and buying real estate, a lot of first-time buyers assume that if they have to get a loan, they can’t compete. Many times this thinking keeps a would-be buyer on the sidelines.

But it’s important to educate buyers that cash is not always king. For starters, cash buyers expect some a discount because, by paying cash, they’re eliminating some of the risk of loan approval for the seller. A smart buyer can counter a cash buyer simply by making their offer as airtight as possible, such as being fully approved before making an offer. This means having the mortgage professional fully vet the buyer’s finances so there won’t be any surprises.

Buyers can take it a step further. Before making an offer, they should have the mortgage pro get as much information about the property. If the lender feels strongly about the buyer’s finances and the property doesn’t seem to have any obvious red flags, the buyer’s offer should include a short window to get the loan approved. Many sellers assume they have to wait 30 to 45 days for a buyer to get their financing in place. But if the buyer has their financial ducks in a row, they should shoot for two weeks to get financing.

Also, because cash buyers expect a discount, buyers can counter their offer by paying more. Though this may sound crazy, paying more doesn’t necessarily mean “overpaying.” It may simply mean paying market value, which a cash buyer won’t pay.

Finally, many home sellers, particularly long-term homeowners, like to know that someone will be living in the home and that there’s a real “person” behind the offer. When a seller is faced with two similar offers— one from a cash investor and the other from a person who really wants to live in the house and makes that known—a buyer with a clean, solid offer may beat out the all-cash investor.

7. Buying real estate guarantees appreciation

For a few years during the last decade, homes in all parts of the country were appreciating upwards of 15 percent year-over-year. We all know that the housing market came to a halt when the credit crisis happened a few years later.

Even though the real estate market is back in many parts of the country, things are different today. A generation ago, a buyer would purchase a home and plan to live there for 30 years and pay off their mortgage. Over time, this home did appreciate and it was a great investment for that buyer.

Today’s buyers are different and the world is different. With access to information, technology and the global economy, people are not staying put for as long as they used to. Also, people aren’t marrying and settling down as early and therefore may own one or two homes before settling down.

Real estate was still always meant to be a long-term investment. A generation ago, a homeowner couldn’t follow their Zestimate® home value or check their neighbor’s listings online. There was simply less knowledge and less tracking of your home’s value. If a homeowner looks at their home’s value weekly or monthly, much like stock investments, they will be in for a big surprise. Their home may appreciate a small amount. The value may stay flat for a few years. Or it may even go down.

Buyers should not buy a home only because they think it’s a good investment. It’s a home first and an investment second. If the buyer can’t commit to a minimum of five years (seven to 10 is even better), then they may be better off renting until they’re ready to commit.